


Something Better

by adraztea



Series: Something else [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-03-01
Updated: 2007-03-01
Packaged: 2017-11-29 15:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/688405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adraztea/pseuds/adraztea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after S7. Buffy's about to get a surprise... A really, really good one.</p>
<p>(Very much ignoring S8.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Better

**Author's Note:**

> Moving some of my old stuff over here. This was written in 2007.

She was standing alone in the dark. The ground was damp beneath her boots, the heels sinking down a bit into the mud, and the air was warm and filled with the smell of spring rain. Somehow, the world always seemed like a better place after those early spring rains, even though she knew it really, really wasn’t. 

All those apocalypses, and she was still there fighting evil. 

Or at least she was there most of the times; well, some of the times, at least. The other Slayers did a pretty good job of keeping evil at bay. She just got the urge to do something good once in a while. 

Annoyed with herself Buffy tried to shrug the thoughts away while she kept an eye on the fresh grave. So what if she only fought evil when she was feeling restless? At least she was still around to fight it.

_Unlike some others…_

The thought was there before she could stop it, before she could block out the image in her mind of a man with bleached blond hair. 

It was a welcome distraction when the dirt on one of the graves moved, and a hand shot up from the ground. Even before the vampire had crawled its way out, it was dust.

Something else moved behind her, and she spun around. The darkness was quiet, not revealing anything, just showing her rows and rows of headstones. Still, she knew something had been there. Standing completely still, she closed her eyes and focused. 

Nothing. 

Then, just when she was about to give up, she felt it. A vampire, moving carefully through the cemetery, trying to get away undetected. Buffy smiled, and followed it slowly around the headstones, reaching the east gate in the iron fence before she opened her eyes again. She could just make out the dark shape moving by the fence, trying to reach the gate. It was time to move fast. Reaching for the stake she had hidden, she got ready to strike. 

The theme song to “The Muppet Show” tore the silence apart. The vampire turned around, its golden eyes gleaming as their eyes met, and then it was gone, running across the cemetery. 

Buffy swore as she was left to struggle with her cell phone. Stupid Dawn, always calling at the wrong time! She flipped the phone open as she put the stake away. 

“Very busy and unfortunately not slaying,” she grumpily greeted her sister. 

_“Good, then you can come straight home.”_

There was something in Dawn’s voice that caught her attention. Her sister sounded… worried, maybe, or even a little bit scared. No, that wasn’t it. It was something else. Something… 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, already moving through the gate and on her way home. 

Dawn was quiet for so long that Buffy had to look at her phone to make sure that they hadn’t been disconnected. 

_“It’s… just come home, Buffy. It’s nothing dangerous or so, just… You have to come home.”_

“I’m on my way,” Buffy assured her sister. Even though Dawn had said it wasn’t anything dangerous, Buffy was still worried. Sometimes, she thought she had spent most of her life worrying about her sister getting into trouble. Of course, most of the times Dawn _was_ in trouble. The teenager was almost even more talented in that area than Buffy herself. Almost, but not quite. 

It was still early in the evening, and the streets of London were busy. Buffy avoided the crowded streets and stuck to the alleys, finding her way home across the familiar city. Once at the house, she ran up the stairs rather than wait for the elevator. Pushing the door to the apartment open, she called out for her sister. 

Relief washed over her when Dawn walked out from the kitchen. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked before Dawn had the chance to say anything. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I told you, there’s nothing dangerous going on. Not even a single little apocalypse. Here, sit down.”

Dawn led her over to the big couch in the living room, made her sit down, and then she sat down next to her. 

“Then what’s the matter? You’re making me worried,” Buffy pressed on.

“It’s nothing to worry about. It’s just…” 

Dawn stopped, unsure how to continue. Buffy looked at her, trying to figure out what was so important that her sister had called her home from patrol. Her sister was biting on her lower lip, not really looking at her. Buffy rolled her shoulders to get rid of an uncomfortable tingle in her neck, and finally Dawn looked up and their eyes met. 

“He’s back,” she said.

“Who? Xander?” Buffy frowned. “Wasn’t he supposed to be travelling another month?”

“No, not Xander. I wouldn’t have called you for that. Listen, Buffy, I tried to figure out a good way to tell you, but I guess there isn’t one…”

“You’re not making any sense, Dawnie. Who’s back? Giles? Is it Giles?”

“No, it’s…” 

“Me.” 

Buffy turned around, staring at the man who was standing in the kitchen doorway. Her heart almost stopped beating. He was standing with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, a leather jacket over the faded black t-shirt. His hair was longer than when she last saw him, and not slicked back but left in its natural, brown curls. He was looking at her almost shyly, his blue eyes even bluer than she remembered them. 

Spike. 

She couldn’t tear her eyes from him. When Dawn got up from the couch and left, Buffy barely noticed. Spike smiled at the girl as she passed him on her way out of the room, and then he walked over to Buffy and sat down next to her. 

“Hey,” he said, taking her hands in his own. “I’ve missed you.” 

She couldn’t say anything, just stare. Her hands felt cold in his. He smiled at her.

“Cat got you tongue?” 

“H-h-how? The last time I saw you…” 

Buffy looked at their hands. The last time she had seen him, he had been on fire. Their hands had been on fire. Then it hit her, and she looked up at him in alarm.

“Did Willow…?”

“Willow had nothing to do with it. No heaven for this vamp. No hell either.” 

“Then how did you…?”

She reached out for him, touched the side of his face, and he leaned in to her touch. 

_Soft,_ Buffy thought. _And warm…_

“Prophecy,” he answered quietly. “Well, evil law firm-amulet, to start with, but in the end it was prophecy.” 

“So you’re really here? Here-here? Not going anywhere?”

Once she started touching him, she couldn’t stop. His arms, his chest, his hair. As if to check that it really was him. His cheekbones, as sharp as she remembered them. His hair, so much softer. 

“Nowhere at all, luv. I’m really here.”

“Promise?”

He could see the tears glistening in her eyes, threatening to overflow. He blinked rapidly, tried to keep his own tears away. 

“I promise,” he nods. 

Then she was in his arms. He pulled her tight, hugged her so hard. 

“Do you really want me to stay?”

“Of course I do,” Buffy sobbed. “I love you. I’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you too, pet. Missed you so much. Only wanted to be with you.” 

She lost track of time. The feeling of his body so close, his arms tight around her. Something she never thought she’d have again, something she thought she’d lost forever. Listening to his breathing, to his heartbeat. 

It took a while before realised what she heard.


End file.
